Local resident making debut in horror circuit

Tim “Crow” O’Hearn was recently interviewed at the Calaboose Grille in Owego, N.Y., about his roles in released and upcoming horror films.

As an underground dwelling creature, actor and Waverly resident Tim “Crow” O’Hearn emerges and takes part in a gory scene in “Terminal Descent,” a scene that was his all time favorite thus far. “The bloodier the better,” described O’Hearn of this horror movie acting experience.

In another film, “Cleric,” he plays the lead role as “Alpha Howler,” a character that yields a five-foot chainsword (a sword with a chainsaw for a blade) as a Heritic in the distant future.

In one scene, O’Hearn explains, he acts out a lot of killing scenes. “Cleric,” which was filmed in Buffalo, is expected to be released in 2013.

For O’Hearn, it’s a pursuit of his dreams. “Terminal Descent,” which is in post-production, is just one of the close to a dozen horror films that O’Hearn has appeared in.

So what inspired this former Air Force service member and government worker to delve into the business of horror? We couldn’t find out any other way than to speak to O’Hearn himself, in the flesh.

Raised in Gouvernuer, N.Y., near the St. Lawrence River, O’Hearn joined the Air Force upon graduation, and was eventually stationed in Rome, N.Y. He was only there for a few years when he relocated to Tioga County, N.Y. in 1985.

Approximately nine years ago, O’Hearn became well-know in the region, and as well as nationally, as the drummer in his band, Pushrods. The band, comprised of Rich Sabin of Elmira, N.Y. on vocals and guitar, Ron Grace of Athens on bass, and O’Hearn on drums, compares themselves with bands like the Dead Kennedys, or the Sex Pistols.

The band has played in Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y. over the years, and even traveled to perform in Tampa, Fla., New Jersey and Long Island. With two professionally produced CDs under their belts, the band continues to perform. You can learn more about the band by liking them on Facebook.

Being a musician was second nature for O’Hearn, though his true love is horror. During a recent interview, he recalled how, as a child, he loved the old Christopher Lee Vampire movies, Vincent Price, and The Chiller Series. O’Hearn even recalled creating his own mini-film when he was younger based on the filming of “I Was a Teenage Frankenstein.” According to O’Hearn, he used silly putty in his own little creation.

In 1993, O’Hearn pursued and earned the part as an extra in a filming of “Winter’s Bend,” which was filmed in Binghamton.

“I was a bar patron in one of the big scenes,” O’Hearn described. “I bumped into the lead girl, and that was it.”

Then in 2004, an old friend of O’Hearn’s, who was an extra in Law and Order, encouraged him to go after his dreams. With that they made up a headshot, and the pursuit began.

O’Hearn sent his headshot and a request to Michael Lemon casting in Philadelphia, and landed himself a role as an extra in Annapolis. Then, after making a connection through a friend in Buffalo, O’Hearn was cast as an underground dwelling creature in “Terminal Descent.”

Earlier that year, O’Hearn also traveled to Tampa for a role he played in “100 Tears,” a 2007 American slasher film that follows the story of a circus clown going on a murderous rampage after being wrongfully accused of rape. In this film, O’Hearn explained, he gets his leg cut off by the killer clown.

“I had a pitch fork, and the clown had a meat cleaver,” O’Hearn said. “We didn’t rehearse it, we just did it. We were fighting on the table, I got choked and passed out, and when I woke up the cleaver was coming down.” There were special effects to include a fake leg and plenty of fake blood.

O’Hearn was also featured in another film, “Dead Ink.” Shot in Montreal in 2010, O’Hearn stated he played the part of a tattoo-hating phone caller.

It was not too long ago when an old high school friend of O’Hearn’s, Tim Walton, was running his company in Syracuse on an average day. One of Walton’s truck drivers was playing music, and it was O’Hearn’s band. The two reconnected from that one moment in time, and came together to form their own partnership as Crow Nan Films, an effort that has produced two films to be released: “Sineaters,” starring O’Hearn as Vaughn, and “Binary Samurai,” also starring O’Hearn as The Demagogue. Sineaters is now in post production, according to O’Hearn, and is hoped to be released next summer.

While some roles play into the evil that O’Hearn loves to act out on the screen, other roles are a bit more subtle.

For “Sineaters”, which he noted took two to three years to produce, O’Hearn had to train extensively for the role.

“I just wanted to get as big as I could get,” he stated. “I worked out three days a week and went on a strict diet.”

Looking forward, O’Hearn was recently cast for a role in “Hopeless,” a 3-D zombie film to be produced in Connecticut. According to O’Hearn, he will have a leading role as “Flea,” a biker.

O’Hearn will also be featured in an upcoming episode of Animal Planet’s “Fatal Attractions,” with a tentative air date of Dec. 7. In this episode, O’Hearn plays Vito, who is obsessed with and has over 200 snakes. O’Hearn, as Vito, comes home from work one day and finds his girlfriend lying dead in bed. The rest of the story unfolds.

O’Hearn is also collaborating with an actress, and working to intertwine two stories that will be produced into one through Crow Nan Films.

To learn more about O’Hearn, and to follow his action, you can visit him at timohearn.com. There you will find links to upcoming releases.

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